Poképocolypse
by Veloce Luce
Summary: In the isolated region known as Navo, a strange epidemic is occurring. Pokémon are viciously attacking humans, slaughtering them unprovoked. Even trained and owned Pokémon are turning against the people they love and killing them. Riona, a drifter on the roads, travels with her trusted Gallade to escape the crisis, but are other regions safe from this phenomena? Is escape possible?
1. Chapter 1

"...many more reports of unprovoked Pokémon attacks on humans. Scientists are still baffled at this alarming phenomena happening in Navo. Due to the limited connection Navo has with other regions, it is not known if this is a worldwide epidemic. It has been suggested that Pokémon owners leave their Pokémon in a PC, at the Poke Center, or release them until these attacks are fully understood. There have been-"

"Turn that shit off, Merc."

The woman driving the car gruffly spoke, addressing a Gallade sitting in the passenger seat besides her. Silently, he turned down the radio until the voice coming from the speakers was a little more than a buzzing hum.

The woman, named Riona, was driving down an old dusty road in her truck, specially modified for hostile attacks from Pokémon. Spikes covered the vehicle and thick shields protected the passengers. Guns of all sizes and types hung inside the car and many more were hidden in different places for shooting down anything that got in the way. Bullets, rounds of ammunition, knives, all sorts of self-defense weapons were stockpiled in the truck. Of course there was also food and water and all the necessary crap piled in the trunk, which was sealed off by a spiked top. It was a pretty fierce looking car driven by a fierce woman.

"How long 'til we reach this town?" Riona asked, skillfully balancing her cigarette between her teeth.

The Gallade, named Mercury, checked the map laid out on the dashboard. "Maybe an hour." He spoke softly.

"Mmm." Riona grunted, looking ahead on the road. There were no other cars. Not that it surprised her. Most everybody was holed up in their houses and towns. People were too scared to set foot outside. If you leave a safe zone, there's a big chance you wouldn't make it back home.

Riona didn't have a home, so she roamed along with Mercury.

The sun began to set in the dry fields of nowhere. This was Navo, the nowhere region. It was a small region with no gyms or Pokémon League. It had nothing of interest. It wasn't even that well-known. Navo was just a little peninsula cut off from the rest of the country by mountains. In the red horizon, Riona saw a little town. The fact that towns this small could be found on a map said a lot about Navo.

Mercury suddenly whipped his head to the left.

"What?" Riona said, reaching for the gun up against her thigh. It was concealed under her clothing. She had a dozen hidden weapons on her, but her thigh gun was the one she always went for first.

After a few seconds, Mercury slowly turned towards her. "Nothing." He said. "I thought I saw a flock of bird Pokémon. It was just a small dust flurry."

Riona let out a long smoky breath. Her hand on her gun went back to join its partner on the steering wheel.

_Passing another body. _Riona thought to herself. The truck roared past a corpse on the side of the road. The flesh was melting off the bone. Some of it already had been picked at. It would've been retrieved if it wasn't for the fact that when someone tried to get it, they ended up becoming dead too.

As they came closer to the town—named Oakka-Riona noticed that large barricades made of sharpened planks surrounded the entrance of the town. It wasn't a welcoming sign at all. It also told Riona that Pokémon were staring to attack towns. They didn't use to do that. Riona remembered when it was nothing more than a couple of weird incidents.

As they pulled up to the town, Riona slowed down. A large man with a huge rifle was coming out to personally greet them. "Stay in the car, Merc." Riona murmured to the Gallade. Mercury nodded.

Riona stopped the truck and stepped out. The man immediately pointed the rifle squarely at her. He looked jaded. His eyes darted everywhere and his hands quivered as he held his weapon. Riona honestly couldn't blame him. A truck made to look like a massacre weapon comes onto your small and out-of-the-way town during a time like this. Then a woman steps out, short ragged and black hair, tattoos on every inch of her body, and guns are inside the truck. Riona would've shot them, no doubt about it.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The man barked.

Riona let her hands raise into the air. "Hey, don't shoot. We're not here for trouble. Just passing through."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Nobody just passes through nowadays."

She had to give it to him; he was right. Nobody even went outside. Riona was the exception. "Look, we just want to pass through your town. Maybe buy a few supplies. Then we're outta here."

"Where you going?"

"None of your business."

The man suddenly swung his rifle to Mercury, who was silently sitting in the car. "That's a Pokémon."

Riona quickly stepped in front of the rifle's barrel. "Yeah, he is."

"Pokémon are dangerous."

"He's never hurt anyone and he won't hurt anyone. Trust me."

The man gestured behind him with his head. "You know, a man in this town once said the very same thing. Had an Eevee, you see. Was a cute little devil." He lowered his rifle slightly. "Kept telling us, 'She ain't gonna hurt a soul. Had her since she was an egg. She wouldn't hurt a Caterpie. I'll take care of her.' Guess what happened?"

Riona blew smoke out of one side of her mouth. She didn't say anything.

"He locked himself up in his house with that damn Eevee," He continued. Now he lowered his gun more. "For days, nothing went wrong. Only came out to get food for himself and the Eevee, and maybe some other little things once in a while. Then he didn't come back out. A woman-his friend, you see-went to go check on him. She opened the door and the little fucker jumped on her face the moment she walked in. You could hear her screaming from down the street. Her face was nothing but ribbons. It jumped on another guy and it jumped on a kid. Someone finally shot it in the back of its head." His hands were now shaking. He was quiet for a few moments before putting the gun down to his side.

"It was dead, but it took four people with it. We went inside the house and there was fucking blood everywhere. We found the guy. At least what was left of him. Couldn't even recognize him. He was just a pile of severed limbs. The torso was dragged into another room. We didn't find the head. A little Eevee. He loved it."

The two stood in silence for a moment. The sun had set behind the flat land yonder, taking out the last bits of orange and red with it. Riona dropped the butt of her cigarette onto the ground and crushed it with her boot.

"I'll leave him in the car." Riona finally said.

The man said nothing. He only stared at the ground.

"I won't take him into town with me. I'll buy my stuff and leave with him."

"You'll find there are no Pokémon in Oakka anymore." The man replied. He stepped aside though. "Go on in. Leave it in the car."

Riona nodded. He went back into the car and opened the door. Mercury was still sitting silently.

"I'm sorry, Merc. Could you wait here?"

Mercury nodded.

"I'll be back soon. I won't leave you. I promise."

Mercury nodded. "I know."

Riona closed the door and entered the town.

A few miserable houses here and there. A small shop. Maybe a house that would let you rest under their roof if you looked tired enough. That was Oakka. It used to be a nice small town that would take care of travelers riding on the lonely road. It was known for being open and being the town to go to when you needed a place to rest when you're in the middle of nowhere. Now it was just a skeleton of what it used to be, trying to survive. People didn't want to go out and deliver food and water to a place so out there. Oakka was drying up.

Riona entered a small shop. It had some basic stuff. The human supplies were nearly all gone. Picked clean. It seemed that there hadn't been a new delivery in almost a month. The Pokémon supplies had been barely touched. A woman with tired eyes stood behind the counter.

"Hello, may I help you?" She said. Her voice sounded weak.

"Pokémon food and potions. Stuff like that." Riona said.

"Of course." The woman gathered the required things and passed them over the counter. Riona handed over the money. Her eyes fell on a small mat behind the counter. Two bowls, one for water and one for food, were next to it. They were covered in dust.

"I used to have a Luxray." The woman explained, catching the line of Riona's sight. "He was the store's personal guard ever since my mother opened shop when he was a Shinx."

"What happened to him?" Riona asked.

She looked away. "When things started...happening, Arthur said he'd take care of him. He took care of all the Pokémon in Oakka."

"Arthur?"

"You already met him."

Riona realized why he really carried the rifle around. She quickly took her things and left.

Riona made it back to the car. Mercury had waited patiently, like he said. Arthur was standing by the barricade, keeping watch on him and for other Pokémon.

"Thanks for letting us through. You guys be safe now." Riona said to Arthur.

"Careful on the road. Pokémon, you know."

Riona nodded. She opened the spiked lid on the trunk and brought out a small cup. Using a knife to cut a small hole in one of the food bags, she poured some in and gave the cup to Mercury. Before she climbed back into the truck, she couldn't help but ask.

"Hey, you had a Pokémon, right?"

Arthur looked up. "I did. A Murkrow."

"What happened?"

"I took care of her."

Riona lit another cigarette. Then she climbed into the truck and started the engine.

She began to drive off through the town, watching the buildings disappear behind her. After Oakka disappeared from view, she asked, "How's your food, Merc?"

Mercury ate the little pellets one by one. "Good."

Riona rubbed his shoulder. "If you need more, let me know."

They drove for some time in the night, their only light being the stars and the moon above. There were still no Pokémon around. This unsettled Riona a bit, but she didn't think about it much. It was just her and Mercury roaming. Nothing but the eerie wind whistling past and the night air to chill them as they continued on. There was still some ways until they reached their destination.

"You look tired." Mercury noted, the empty food cup resting on the dashboard.

Yawning, Riona replied, "Yeah."

"Let's stop and rest."

"Yeah. Good idea."

Riona stopped the truck on the side of the road. The night was still silent. Even the wind was strangely still. Making sure the doors were locked, she began to adjust herself in the seat to make herself more comfortable. She checked the windows. They were all securely rolled up. To her side, Mercury began to curl up on the seal.

"Night, Merc."

"Goodnight."

Riona closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

_We'll make it out of here. I know we will._


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Riona had a dream. She didn't often had dreams. Usually, she would be talking to someone. Just having a casual conversation with them, whoever they were. Riona didn't know who the person was and she assumed that they weren't really real. She supposed this way her way of confronting her thoughts that she refused to think about when she was awake. This night, Riona was talking to a handsome young man in a suit. He was smoking a cigar. His silver hair was slicked back. He was seated behind a desk with Riona in a chair facing him. The places where Riona had these conversations changed from dream to dream.

"I know you think about it, Ri." The man said. Somehow, Riona knew his name was One.

"About what?" Riona asked.

"Trained Pokémon aren't safe from this...curse, I suppose I could say. Even the ones Trainers have kept and raised for years. They turn on them. They kill them too."

"If this is about Mercury, then you can shut the fuck up."

One's thick eyebrows shot up. "So brash. I'm just saying."

"I've had him since I was seven. I remember him being a small Ralts."

One nodded. "Yes, eighteen years." He leaned back in his chair. It squeaked quietly. "Of course, you remember it all. Running out of your parents' house when they would fight. Going into the tall grass and meeting a Ralts once day who comforted you."

Riona said nothing.

One continued. "From that day on, whenever you had to leave the house, you'd always go to that same spot in the grass just outside the town. He was always waiting there for you. Even when your parents divorced and your dad walked out when you were just nine years old. Did you ever see your father again, Ri?"

Riona crossed her arms. "No."

"Yes, you never did. Then that Ralts-Mercury, as we know him-evolved into a Kirlia. Remember when you were twelve years old and you stole that Dawn Stone from that trainer? Then he evolved into a Gallade. Yes, I'm sure you remember."

One turned in his chair, now facing away from Riona. "Then, at sixteen years, your mother kicked you out of the house with almost nothing on your back. You started to cry. Not because you would miss your mother, but because you thought you had to leave Mercury behind. Do you remember crying, Ri?"

"Go screw yourself, you son of a bitch."

"Now, now. No need to be so rude. Besides, as you left town, Mercury followed you anyways. Remember? You told him to stay and he said he'd follow you wherever you went. Since then, you two have roamed all over Navo, never looking back." He inhaled on his cigar. "Then, this happened. About six months ago. Pokémon are killing humans left and right. Even their trainers." One turned his chair to look back at Riona. "Even their owners."

Riona refused to reply.

"I know you think about it, Ri." He repeated. "Sometimes it goes through your mind for the briefest second. But Mercury could never turn on you, right? You've been through so much together. He could never kill you, right?"

"You're damn right he won't," Riona suddenly stood up. "He'll never hurt anyone. It doesn't matter if a million Pokémon kill their trainers tomorrow. It doesn't matter if every single fucking Pokémon in the world killed someone. Mercury would never do that. He'll never do that. You hear me, you piece of shit?"

One regarded her calmly, tapping the ash from his cigar. Suddenly the whole room began to rock back and forth. Riona struggled to keep her balance as the whole dream suddenly became blurry.

"Ri? Ri! Ri! Wake up!"

Riona woke up to the ceiling of her truck. Mercury was above her, an expression of panic on his face. The truck was rocking back and forth violently. Riona quickly sat up and pulled her thigh gun from its hiding spot. Cocking it, she saw what was happening. Loud squawking and growling could be heard outside the car, along with scratching and pecking.

Pokémon. Bloodthirsty and wanting to kill her.

A Staravia was pecking the shield window furiously. Riona quickly turned the car on. The engine revved to the life and the truck began to vibrate. Backing up quickly, the fleet of Bird Pokémon quickly followed. Riona then stomped on the gas. The truck jerked forward and drove straight through the flock. A few screeching cries suddenly rang in her ears, along with a horrible fleshy stab noise. Blood splattered on the windshield in thick globs. The untouched ones quickly began to fly after the truck, ignoring the weak noises from their impaled companions.

"Merc, take the wheel!" Riona yelled. Mercury quickly grabbed the wheel and guided the vehicle down the road. Riona's foot stayed on the gas. Rolling down the window, Riona aimed and began to shoot the birds. With each crack of her gun, another bullet lodged itself into a Pokémon. Yet, they still kept flying, chasing after them. Riona grunted and aimed at a Fearow's head. Its skull cracked and it dropped to the ground. A Pidgeotto had a bullet enter straight through its eye socket.

"Merc, I'm gonna brake!" Riona shouted, then smashed her foot onto the brakes. The truck skidded to a halt, lurching the two occupants forward with the sudden force. The Pokémon weren't expecting it, though. A few of them crashed straight into the spikes, the sharp points driving through their flesh. The rest of them flew straight past. Riona shot them as they past. They dropped to the ground.

The silence afterwards was deafening.

Riona was breathing heavily, her heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears. She turned to Mercury. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He replied.

Riona sighed and put her gun back onto her thigh. "Shit. Well, let's clean up the car."

They exited the car. Blood almost drenched it. Riona got to work on removing the impaled Pokémon. Two of them were still alive, still trying to will themselves to hurt Riona. She quickly put a bullet in their heads. Mercury helped her carefully pull the birds from the car. They threw their bodies to the side of the road. Fresh blood now joined the dried red that covered the truck. The pile of Pokémon corpses grew higher. Riona studied the pile and sighed.

"Damn." She said.

Mercury stood next to her. "It seems they've gotten more aggressive."

"Yeah." Riona threw another body onto the heap. It was still twitching.

"It used to not be like this."

"Yep."

"Pokémon were the life of some people."

"Mm hmm."

"Why do you think this happened?"

Riona shook her head. "Doesn't matter to me." She began peeling the last body off the spikes. "The way I see it, the world just does crazy shit. Yeah, you can sit around and wonder why, but it's better to just know that it happens and survive. The people that sit around wondering why get killed. The people that just accept it and try not to die don't get killed."

Mercury said nothing. Riona threw the bird's corpse with the others and shook her hands, now stained red. She turned towards the truck to secure the top over the trunk.

"Ri!"

Before Riona could react, Mercury had jumped up. The blades on his elbows extended and began to glow white. One of the birds, thought to be dead, flapped its wings and sprang to life, squawking loudly. Half of its face was shatter into a red pulpy mess. Mercury quickly brought his blades down on its throat. The Staravia's throat sputtered red before it fell to the ground. Mercury's blades retracted. He was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Riona said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Mercury winced.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Thanks, buddy. I know you got my back."

They got back in the truck and continued on. The dirt plains eventually gave way to a more vegetated terrain, with bushes and trees dotted the landscape now. They didn't pass many houses or other small towns. The population of Navo was rather small. Most of the larger cities were closer to the border of the larger regions. In the southern parts, it was mostly small towns and unpopulated terrains. The long road they were driving on cut through Navo, from top to bottom. It felt rather lonely.

Further down the road, the duo spotted a single Mankey mingling at the side of the road. It looked miserable; skinny and shedding fur in large amounts.

"A Pokémon." Mercury warned.

Riona saw it look at the truck before quickly scurrying off. "It was a friendly."

"Some Pokémon won't attack?" Mercury asked.

Riona looked at him.

"Oh." Mercury said, realizing her point.

"Where are we on the map, Merc?"

Mercury checked the map. "We're almost to the Navo Forest."

"Fuck. That place will be crawling with Pokémon."

"Look, a body." Mercury pointed to the side of the road. The dead woman, lying on her stomach, seemed to be a fresh body. She had not started decomposing. Riona noticed that she carried a backpack and several smaller bags with her. Riona stopped the car.

"Let's loot her." She said.

Getting out of the car, Riona flipped over the body. Once she lay eyes on the front, her eyes widened. "Holy shit."

The woman had obviously met her ends with a fire Pokémon. Her face was completely burned black, the skin actually cracking into red splits. Large red blisters covered her arms and chest. Her arms were soaked with dried blood. The Pokémon that had killed her was nowhere in site. Riona slipped the backpack, only suffering slight burns, and began to file through it. Some people might have felt bad about going through a dead woman's personal belongings. Riona said fuck that. She wasn't going to starve to death or die of thirst because some dead person had what she needed. They were dead. Dead people don't eat or drink or need to survive.

"Some food, both for humans and Pokémon. Water. Potions." Riona rifled through the large backpack. "Berries. Not rotten. Held items for battling. We can sell that for money." Riona looked towards Mercury. "Find anything good?"

"Mostly personal things." Mercury said.

"Any ammo?"

"No."

"Dammit." Riona stood up. "We're running low on ammo. You think people would stop being so fucking sentimental about defending themselves against something trying to kill them." She loaded the things in the backpack and put it in the trunk of the car. "Doesn't matter to me what's trying to kill me. Human or Pokémon. I'll shoot its fucking brains out."

"Even if it was me?" Mercury asked quietly.

Riona froze.

"Remember what the man in Oakka said?"

"No," Riona slammed the top of the trunk down. "No, don't talk like that. We said we wouldn't talk like that."

"Ri-"

"No, Mercury. Don't say anything like that ever again."

"Have you ever thought about it? Don't you have a plan?"

There was no sound but the soft wind whistling.

"Get in the truck." Riona said. She refused to continue that conversation. Mercury had no choice but to drop it.

* * *

"God damn, I hate forests."

The Navo Forest trees stood like a barrier in their way, blocking their journey. It was the only large forest in the small region, inhabited by many Pokémon. It stood as a physical divider between the rural south and the more urban north. The road still cut through the forest, though it was more rough. The road was cut through the forest long ago to connect the two parts of Navo. Not that they mingled much, but sometimes city people would come down to visit their country relatives.

The trees were tall and thick, intimating to some. The tree leaves blocked out much light underneath the canopy. It was near noon, yet the place was as dark as sundown. Riona and Mercury still drove in their spiked war car. Riona had her hunting knife out. Due to their low ammo supply, she had to rely on her melee weapons. She didn't like it, but she had no choice.

They were about one-third of a way into the forest. They had been attacked numerous times, though they fought them off. After the fourth attack, Riona assumed the Pokémon of the forest knew she meant business and kept away. She could feel the tension on her skin, though. They would attack again when they were least expecting it.

Up ahead, they could hear screaming.

"Stop, Leila, stop!"

Riona stopped the car.

A man was being stabbed furiously by his Beedrill. Blood gushed out of him live rivers, pooling down to the forest floor. The Beedrill drilled a hole into his throat. The man coughed, opening his mouth to say something. Blood sputtered from the hole in his throat. The man choked to death on his own body fluids. After a few moments, he was still. The Beedrill quickly turned his attention to the truck. Mercury's blades extended and he cut the Beedrill in half. Intestines fell to the ground with a wet plop. The buzzing of the Pokémon became silent.

"Let's move on." Riona said, only glancing at the body. He had nothing of interest on him.

Riona wasn't sure how much more times passed on, though she would guess maybe an hour or two. They didn't see anymore people. The Navo forest used to attract many people who were Pokémon enthusiasts, trainers, or who just wanted to appreciate the natural beauty of the place. It hadn't seen people in months, it seemed. If someone came in here, they would be slaughtered by the Pokémon waiting, hidden from sight.

The truck halted to a stop.

"Out of gas. Just our shit luck." Riona said.

Mercury nervously looked around. "How will we fill up?"

"Can I count on you to watch my back while I fill the tank?"

"Always."

The two got out of the car. Immediately, Riona could feel a million savage eyes on her. Every second she expected something to jump out of the bushes and slice her to shreds. Mercury stood next to her, blades extended. He motioned for her to continue. Getting out her knife, Riona retrieved the gas can and began to fill the truck with gas. Every moment seemed like an eternity.

There a loud hiss.

A large Arbok whipped from a bush, mouth open. Its fangs dripped with venom. Riona cursed loudly and falling to the side, quickly stabbed it in the side with her knife. The Arbok hissed loudly in pain. Riona kept stabbing it, trying to kill the creature. The Arbok refused to go down. Mercury's blades glowed a pale pink. He slashed at it. The Arbok writhed violently. Psycho Cut. A psychic move. Arbok was a poison Pokémon. It was down in one hit. It lay on its side, dead.

"Fuck. Let's hurry this shit up and get back in the truck." Riona said.

"I agree." Mercury said. He continued watching for more attacks. Riona was finally finished filling up the truck. As she went to put the can back in the trunk, she accidentally stepped on the Arbok. It suddenly thrashed violently, gurgling hisses coming from its mouth, before biting Mercury deep on his leg.

"Ah!" Mercury yelled, quickly delivering another Psycho Cut to it. The Arbok's head became detached from its body.

"Shit! Merc, are you okay?" Riona quickly inspected the wound. Two bloody holes had been dug into his skin.

"I'm fine." Mercury said.

"No, you're not. Let's get some potions out and heal this."

"We shouldn't do it in the forest. What if more Pokémon attack?"

Riona grunted. "Fine. Let me bandage it real quick."

After wrapping his wound, the two got back in the car. The trees passed them as they reached towards the exit. Riona wish she could see the sun. At least then she could guess what time it was.

"Hey Merc, what's the first town we'll hit when we get out of this place?"

No answer.

"Merc?"

"Hm?" Mercury had been resting his head on the dashboard.

"Merc, are you okay?"

Mercury only nodded. He didn't say anything.

Riona stopped the truck.

She turned to look at him. He had a purple tint to him. "Merc, you're poisoned!"

"I'm fine." He said firmly.

"Shit. Shit. We need to get some antidote."

"We're still in the forest though."

"Dammit!" Riona opened the glove box and fished around for a potion bottle. She sprayed it on the wound. "Feel better?"

"A little." Mercury replied.

Riona stepped on the gas, now plowing through at top speed through the forest. A few times the truck ran over a pothole and jumped. She leaned forward, looking desperately for the exit of the forest. When she saw the opening at the end of the road, she willed the car to go faster. Finally, the trees gave way and they were once again in open land. The truck halted.

Riona jumped out and began to rummage through the trunk. She found one bottle of antidote. It only had a few drops left. "No, shit!" She quickly went to Merc and dripped what few drops were in the bottle. "Fuck, fuck! How are we out of antidote?"

"We needed more potions instead of antidotes." Mercury replied. The purple was becoming more apparent in his skin.

Riona threw the bottle with all the strength she had in her arm. It went sailing over the trees. "Fuck!" She screamed. She grabbed the map from Mercury's lap and read it quickly. "Errest Town. The next town. We can get antidotes there."

"I'm not too bad." Mercury said.

Riona quickly pocketed the map and jumped back into the driver's seat. "Do you think you can make it until Errest Town?"

Mercury nodded, saying nothing.

Riona floored the gas pedal and the truck went screeching forward. She didn't care about being careful. Errest Town was another hour away, and each second was another second Mercury had to suffer.


End file.
